END OF THE LINE: Failure to recognize the real problem

The 2009 documentary End of the line, based on the book by British journalist Charles Clover, documents the state of « fisheries » in the world and how we are driving entire species to extinctions. It also shows what is happening behind the scenes with governments and corporations whose race to catch the last fish is destroying the worlds’ oceans.

This is a very informative documentary. However, I have two warnings: one, this is a mainstream, speciesist point of view. Not once do they even wonder what this must be like to the animals themselves. Everything is seen from a human-centric point of view.

Two: there are some very graphics images of what is done to the fishes. They don’t hide human brutality on the ocean and the animals (which makes it really even more disgusting). It shows humans as these aggressive predators who rape and tear up the fabric of ocean life. So if you are very sensitive, I wouldn’t recommend it.

If you can get past these two things however, this is a very good documentary which reinforced my views that going Vegan really is the only answer. The documentary does not address the fact that we don’t even need to eat fishes in the first place. There are some very haunting images in the movie. Some scenes are beautifully filmed which makes it even more compelling, although hard, to watch.

One of the most damning statements in the movie, made out of ignorance by a fisherman in Senegal, is when he says: “The Sea betrayed us”. In fact, it is humans who betrayed the sea with their greed. Although I understand that this is this man’s subsistence and culture, it demonstrates the speciesist mentality at large. There is no consideration of alternatives anywhere in this documentary. The emphasis is on how to reduce the impact, not whether we need to catch fishes or not. It gives the usual pathetic recommendations of getting the list of what fishes are endangered and to be avoided and those “safe” to eat because they are not. It is about as bad as comparing Factory Farms to “humanely raised” animals. The same grotesque speciesism permeates the thinking behind this. It goes even further when it notes Wall Mart (sic) as an example of sustainability (when it comes to fishes).

How about not eating fish at all?

The impact of our tax dollars on the developing countries is very well documented. We are in essence paying for large boats and monstrous fishing trawls to rape the ocean in developing countries just so we can enjoy eating fish in an expensive restaurant. The little fisherman is a substance fisherman, as demonstrated by the man in Senegal. Just down the road from his home, giant boats are ready to make millions of dollars. The only profits are done by the European Union and other “developed” countries. And let’s not forget how wasteful this industry is. 10% of all the world’s “catch” is released in the ocean, from sea birds to turtles and even whales because they are not target species. One big issue in this documentary is that a lot of the fishes being caught are processed into feed for other fishes and livestock which we then eat. It is 40% of all the catch. So, this is also a human rights issue. This 40% does not go to feed poor humans, it goes to feed rich people in the west who want animal flesh. No one seems to realize that we have turned herbivores (cows) into fish predators to feed other herbivores (us). The best way to reduce that is stop eating animal flesh from land animals. Fish farms are also devastating. It takes about 5 kilos of anchovies to “make” one kilo of salmon.

In retrospect, I wonder what is wrong with the so-called human species. How immoral have we become? How greedy? There are no solutions, clearly, coming from governments as politicians are corrupted by the corporations who rape the oceans. One exception is Alaska which has fishing quotas well below the recovery threshold. But it still does not answer the question of whether we have a moral right to exploit other species, which we don’t. And it doesn’t make fishes any healthier for human consumption. Fish is fat and cholesterol that we don’t need. We can get the benefits of Omega 3’s from plant sources like hemp seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, etc… I realize that this is not a documentary on health but answering that question makes eating fishes redundant if you are in a developed country.

The only hope that I can see is for Vegan education. As long as we see the ocean and the animals whose lives depend on it as commodities and things to use for our own profit and dubious benefit, we remain spiritually dead. Veganism is the only way to wake people up and show them alternatives. The person in Senegal may not have a choice, but someone in the western world does. We have a choice of not consuming what contributes to destruction when faced with healthy plant based foods which do not harm the planet. Let’s make this choice today and educate others to do the same. This documentary is a good tool to educate people to what is happening but clearly, we can go further.